Racer Benson Likes NH Governor Benson
Benson New Hampshire Preview: #10 Valvoline Pontiac driver Johnny Benson isn’t a political person. But he does have a favorite governor. It’s the governor of New Hampshire where the NASCAR Winston Cup Series races this weekend. The race at New Hampshire International Speedway is the state’s largest sporting event. Why does a Michigan native and North Carolina resident favor the New Hampshire Governor? It’s all in the name. New Hampshire Governor Craig Benson is in his first term as leader of the Granite State. He and Johnny Benson met in driver introductions when NASCAR raced at Loudon in July. Benson hopes he can put on as good a show for Governor Benson this year as he did last year at NHIS when he led 53 laps. He was leading Ryan Newman by a few seconds on lap 140 with rain closing in when Newman’s teammate Rusty Wallace, who was a lap down, hit Benson sending the Valvoline Pontiac into a slide and allowing Newman to take the lead and eventually win the race. Benson finished fourth. Benson On Favorite Governor: “Yeah we have had a lot of fun with that. Last year when he was running for governor there were tons of “Benson For Governor” signs all over the place. Fans were coming up giving me signs and asking me if it is me they are talking about. I think we had a banner in our pit box. I don’t know him really. When we were going through driver introductions at the last race they were all teasing me about meeting him. We spoke and joked about the names. He seems like a nice man. I’m sure he isn’t any relation. But the Benson name isn’t too common. It’s kind of cool thing. If we win at New Hampshire then maybe I’ll move to New Hampshire and vote for him.” “I have no desire to ever get near politics. I admire the folks that do that, but that just isn’t for me. I don’t know if Governor Benson ever wanted to drive a race car. We’d let him try if he wanted to. You know our Governor in North Carolina took a few laps around Lowes Motor Speedway in May and hit the wall pretty good. It was a pretty hard hit. So I think we’ll keep the politicians in politics and keep the racers in race cars.” New Hampshire “I like the track. We had a really good run here last year and kind of got messed up by the team cars. We had the fastest car that day, but that’s the way it is sometimes. I don’t know if the race this year will be any different. The SAFER barrier is an improvement and NASCAR and the Bahre family deserve a lot of credit for getting them in place. I think you will see a pretty good race. Informed Sources (Story Ideas For Media) More Than Just An Owner Valvoline is more than just a co owner of the #10 Valvoline Pontiac. It’s a partner in racing technology. At the Valvoline lab we have developed the following products that you see raced on race weekends: Qualifying oil. A special, ultra-low viscosity lubricant that increases horsepower on two-lap runs. New line of no-compromises, not-street-legal oils. There are three conventional grades, three synthetic. Increased zinc levels could harm catalytic converters so these oils are not for streetcars. Super Coolant: Water-based coolant withstands higher water temps. A NASCAR-proven cooling system additive that provides a 25% improvement over conventional glycol-based engine coolants. Valvoline Racing Super Coolant is a cooling system corrosion inhibitor concentrate race-tested by Johnny Benson's #10 and Evernham Racing's Nos. 9 & 19 Winston Cup teams. It is proven to provide a 25% improvement in heat transfer over conventional glycol-based engine coolants. Synthetic Gear Oil: Valvoline SynPower Gear Oil is a full synthetic, thermally stable, extreme-pressure gear lubricant designed to operate and protect in extreme-temperature conditions. It has been the "gold standard" for race teams for 10 years. Valvoline has also worked on shock oils, greases and other special oils for special cars. Valvoline made up special oils for NHRA Top Fuel racers, Pro Stock. Racers come to us with an "issue" (bearing wear, fuel contamination, blow-by, etc.); we try to solve with new products and procedures. Teams using some or all of these products include Valvoline Racing MB2, Evernham, Morgan-McClure, Ultra Racing (Winston Cup, NCTS). Attention Radio Broadcasters: Johnny Benson audio is now available. If you would like a MP3 file of Johnny Benson previewing an upcoming race or talking about a specific subject please email me and I will send you the audio file of Benson. High Quality Jpgs If you would like weekly pictures of the #10 team and Benson please email me and I will give you the pass code so you can download pictures every Monday. Media only please. On Fire Monday through Saturday Jimmy Watts is a captain with the Charlotte Fire Department. On Sunday he goes over pit wall just inches away from 43 swarming cars to gas Johnny Benson’s #10 Valvoline Pontiac. Watts helped pull Benson out of his car at Talladega last year and is a good authority on firefighting techniques in racing. The Business of Racing is Business: Half of the stories written about Nascar Winston Cup racing are business related these days. Jim Rocco - Senior Vice President at the Valvoline Company - is the listed car owners of Johnny Benson's #10 Valvoline Pontiac and an excellent interview for stories dealing with team owners, sponsorship or economics of racing. For Sale? Want to know how much it costs to be on a Winston Cup racer? Valvoline has a color graphic in jpg form that gives rough costs estimates of every spot on a Winston Cup car. Home Grown Racing Valvoline as well as Benson and his Crew Chief James Ince value local racers across the country. Benson races a pavement late model and Ince owns and races with his dirt team in the Midwest. Valvoline supports local racers by giving money through a competition called the Valvoline Cup open to all American racers. Benson’s Crew Chief James Ince, of Springfield, Mo., is celebrating a championship for his dirt late model car building company. Justin Wells of Crane Mo. won the IMCA Dirt Late Model championship in a chassis built by James Ince Motorsports. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Benson’s New Hampshire Record Year S F 2003 First Race 26 26 2002 Second Race 2 4 2002 First Race DNS - Injuries 2001 Second Race 15 36 2001 First Race 10 12 2000 Second Race 27 11 2000 First Race 38 14 1999 Second Race 24 18 1999 First Race 27 17 1998 Second Race 38 21 1998 First Race 39 21 1997 Second Race 19 20 1997 First Race 32 18 1996 Only Race 38 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - Benson 2003 Record S F Daytona 40 19 Rockingham 2 13 Las Vegas 16 12 Atlanta 23 11 Darlington 22 25 Bristol 20 19 Texas 13 32 Talladega 17 41 Martinsville 28 32 California 32 36 Richmond 13 15 Charlotte 10 24 Dover 30 5 Pocono 25 24 Michigan 26 25 Infineon 25 30 Daytona 22 27 Chicago 36 18 Loudon 26 26 Pocono 29 20 Indianapolis 40 13 Watkins Glen 27 27 Michigan 35 10 Bristol 32 14 Darlington 11 40 Richmond 9 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - THE RACE: SYLVANIA 300 Winston Cup Race #27 of 36 for the 2003 Winston Cup season Race: Sunday, September 14, 2003 in Loudon, NH TV: TNT - 1:00pm/et Pre-Race Show: TNT - 12:30pm/et - hosted by Bill Weber Scheduled Race Re-Air: there will be a one-hour recap of the race on Wednesday, September 17th at 7:00pm/et and again on September 18th at 1:00am/et; a full three-hour race show will re-air at 3:00pm/et on Thursday, September 18th Announcers: Allen Bestwick, Benny Parsons, Wally Dallenbach Pit Reporters: Bill Weber, Matt Yocum, Marty Snider, Dave Burns War Wagon: Bill Weber and many guests Purse/Race Awards: $? (was $4,129,738 in 2002) 2002 Race Winner: Ryan Newman, 105.081mph, started 1st Track Race Record: Jeff Burton, July 1997, 117.134 Event Speed Record: Jeff Gordon, Sept 1998, 112.078 Track/Race Length: 1.058 mile oval, 300 laps, 317.4 miles Slowest Race Record: Ricky Rudd, July 1994, 87.599mph Oldest Winner: Dale Jarrett, 44 years, 7 months, 26 days, Sept 2001 Youngest Winner: Jeff Gordon, 23 years, 11 months, 21 days, April 1961 Most Laps Led: Jeff Burton, Sept 2000, ALL 300 laps Most Cautions: 17 July 1994 Fewest Cautions: 2, July 1997 Most Caution Laps: 78 July 1994 Worst Starting Spot to Win: Jeff Burton, July 1999, started 38th Pit Road Speed: 35mph Practice Practice: Friday, September 12th, 11:20am - 1:20pm/et; and Saturday, September 13th, 9:30 - 10:15am/et Happy Hour Practice: Saturday, September 13th, 11:10 - 11:55am/et on TV-Speed Channel live. Qualifying Qualifying Draw: Friday, September 12th, 10:20am/et First Round Qualifying: 2 laps for positions 1-36, Friday, September 12th at 3:05pm/et, TV-TNT live Track/Event Qualifying Record: Ryan Newman, Sept 2002, 132.241mph Last Year's Pole Sitter: Ryan Newman, 132.241, finished 1st. Track Specs: Superspeedway: 1.058 mile oval Turns: Banking: 12 degrees; Straights: 2 degrees Length of Straights: Front stretch - 1500ft; Backstretch - 1500ft Grandstand Seating: 91,000 PREVIOUS NHIS WINNERS SEPTEMBER RACE WINNERS 1997: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 100.364; started 13th 1998: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 112.078; started 1st 1999: #42-Joe Nemechek, Chevy, 100.673; started 11th 2000: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 102.003; started 2nd - lead ALL 300 laps - restrictor plate used to slow cars down 2001: #31-Robby Gordon, Chevy, 103.594, started 31st (run in Nov due to 9-11 attacks) 2002: #12-Ryan Newman. Ford, 105.081, started 1st SEPTEMBER POLE WINNERS 1997: #33-Ken Schrader, Chevy, 129.182; finished 37th 1998: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 129.033; finished 1st 1999: #2-Rusty Wallace, Ford, 129.820; finished 6th 2000: #18-Bobby Labonte, Pontiac, 127.632; finished 2nd 2001: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, set by points [field set in Sept for Nov race]; finished 15th 2002: #12-Ryan Newman, Ford, 132.241; finished 1st JULY RACE WINNERS 1993: #2-Rusty Wallace, Pontiac, 105.947mph; started 33rd 1994: #10-Ricky Rudd, Ford, 87.599; started 3rd 1995: #24-Jeff Gordon, Chevy, 107.029; started 21st 1996: #28-Ernie Irvan, Ford, 98.930; started 6th 1997: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 117.134; started 15th 1998: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 102.996; started 5th 1999: #99-Jeff Burton, Ford, 101.876; started 38th 2000: #20-Tony Stewart, Pontiac, 103.145; started 6th 2001: #88-Dale Jarrett, Ford, 102.131; started 9th 2002: #22-Ward Burton, Dodge, 92.342; started 31st 2003: #48-Jimmie Johnson, Chevy, started 6th #10 Valvoline Pontiac Team Television Information Pit Contact: James Ince or Drew Brown Owners: Valvoline (Jim Rocco)/MB2 Motorsports (Tom Beard, Nelson Bowers, Read Morton) Crew Chief/Car Chief: James Ince Engine Builder: Hendrick Motorsports Spotter (Race Day) Jay Guy Spotter (Practice Only) Russell Hoekwater Engine Tuner John Kendrach Over The Wall Pit Crew Front Tire Changer Rick (Fuzz) Burgdoff Front Tire Carrier Shane Cooke Rear Tire Changer Greg Burkhart Rear Tire Carrier Steve Genenbacher Gasman Jimmy Watts Tire Specialist Skippy Johnson Catch Can Steve Mann Jackman Brian Perry Other Crew Members Truck Driver: Jerry Hess Mechanic: David Baum Shocks: Mike Cluka Tires: Jeff (Skippy) Johnson Engineer: Tim Turner Computers & Gas Runner: John Hayes Scorer: Terry Lane Pit Stop Coach: Gary Smith PR Rep: Drew Brown ### Drew Brown drewbrown@bellsouth.net 704-650-0428 cell 704-895-3651 home